Ask the Doc: With steroid and HGH testing, is blood or urine best?

Drug testing has become an institution in the sports world, mixed martial arts included.

However, when it comes to the actual testing, both blood and urine tests are available.

In our latest installment of “Ask the Doc,” MMAjunkie.com medical columnist and combat-sports specialist Dr. Johnny Benjamin discusses the differences between the two tests, new advancements in HGH testing, and the hurdles such a test faces in the sports world.

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What’s the difference between urine and blood testing when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs and human growth hormone? Is there really such a big difference between the results? And if so, why don’t we use the most accurate way of measuring? – “G W” from Toronto, Canada

G, those are excellent questions and timely to boot.

And on a personal note, is Toronto about the coolest and sexiest city in the world? If Carnival in Rio de Janeiro or Trinidad is on your bucket list, do not sleep on Caribana in Toronto. All that I can say is, Whoa! It’s a no-brainer.

Anyway, urine testing is cheaper, less invasive (no needle stick required) and has fewer potential complications (not unless peeing on your hand is considered a complication) than blood testing.

Blood screening is more sensitive (more likely to detect a banned substance), detects more banned substances, and is more difficult to beat through “masking” methods. Blood screening is the current standard for detecting abnormally elevated levels of synthetic human growth hormone (HGH).

There is a new and promising HGH urine test that was developed at George Mason University. The new test uses nanotechnology to bind and amplify HGH in urine so that it may be detectable for a longer period of time. Blood screening can only detect HGH taken within the previous 24 to 48 hours. Nanotechnology may allow urine detection out to that two-week range.

It will take forever (exaggeration) to get the test approved to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards. WADA must be sure that the test can withstand the legal assault that is certain to be waged with the first positive sample.

These classes include more than 400 substances and thousands of related compounds. These categories include active substances, precursors and masking agents.
WADA randomly samples urine throughout the year (out-of-competition screening) and performs blood screening at events (in-competition screening).
The sport of mixed martial arts does not use WADA screening for reasons that are unclear to me.

WADA is not perfect or foolproof, but it is pretty damn good. WADA tests are usually sensitive to parts per billion.

Just for perspective of what “parts per billion” looks like, consider this: In a liquid, it is equivalent to half a teaspoon of the substance dissolved in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

A bit of interesting info I ran cross:

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) funded research at the drug surveillance lab in Cologne, Germany, in 2001 to independently analyze a number of supplements. Of the 634 products tested, 94 (15 percent) contained steroids or related compounds that were not declared on the label.

“Sixteen percent of the positive supplements showed concentrations of steroids at concentrations of 10 micrograms per gram (10ng/g) or higher – considerably greater than that required to give a positive test at the recommended daily intake.” (Informed)

Let that sink in: “Of the 634 products tested, 94 (15 percent) contained steroids or related compounds that were not declared on the label.”

Let the buyer or supplement taker beware. A few players on the NFL Minnesota Vikings found that out the hard way.

Dr. Johnny Benjamin is MMAjunkie.com’s medical columnist and consultant and a noted combat-sports specialist. He is also a member of the Association of Boxing Commissions’ MMA Medical Subcommittee. Dr. Benjamin writes an “Ask the Doc” column every two weeks for MMAjunkie.com. To submit a question for a future column, email him at askthedoc [AT] mmajunkie.com, or share your questions and thoughts in the comments section below. You can find Dr. Benjamin online at www.drjohnnybenjamin.com, and you can read his other sports-related articles at blog.drjohnnybenjamin.com.

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